COM 574 Reading Guide Questions for September 25 - Irwin Mallin, IPFW Communication

COM 574, Fall 2006 – Reading Guide Questions for September 25

For Cheney:

1. As you read this and look at the examples: What does your workplace do to get you to identify with it? What does IPFW do to get you to identify with it? Which of the examples/techniques Cheney discusses come closest to what your workplace does? Does IPFW do anything special for the athletes in this regard*

2. What factors make corporate attempts at getting employees to identify with the corporation more or less credible?

3. Do you find yourself identifying more with your employer or with your occupation? That is, is there a big difference between saying “I’m a nurse” and saying “I’m a nurse for Parkview”? Between saying “I’m a college student” and saying “I’m a college student at IPFW”?*

For Kramer & Berman:

1. On page 1, look at the third paragraph under “REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS,” the one that begins “Although initial research....” In that paragraph they talk about the differences among integrated, differentiated and fragmented perspectives on organizational culture. How would you describe these three perspectives in your own words? What do you see as the value of each? What would examining each reveal at your workplace? At IPFW?

2. What would the stories presented here do for you if you were a new student at Missouri? In general, what do shared stories of an organization/community/family/whatever do for you?

3. What shared stories do we have at IPFW? In COM? At your workplace?

4. Toward the end of the article, in the paragraph that begins “Certainly, a university...” on page 10, they talk about the same story being used for different purposes by different subgroups. The example they give is the “refrigerator story” at GM. What stories are used for different purposes by different subgroups where you work?

For Roeper:

1. Compare they way he feels about being an alum of Ill State to the way you feel about being a student at/prospective alum of IPFW. In what ways do you agree or disagree with his perspectives on identifying with a regional campus v. a main campus?

For Schmich:

1. In what ways do you agree or disagree with her perspective on the “family” metaphor as a means for organizational identification? With the arguments she makes about it? Have you worked somewhere where management used the family metaphor? Was it successfully enacted there?

For Eisenberg:

1. In the COM classes you’ve taken (or taught) were you taught (or have you taught) that good communication is always clear communication? As you read this article, see whether your opinion on that changes.

2. When have you used strategic ambiguity to achieve a communication goal? (If you were ever a child who wanted something from your parents, you’re not allowed to say “never.” If anyone’s ever asked you “do I look fat in this?,” you’re not allowed to say “never.” ) Were you successful?

3. He begins the second paragraph from the bottom of page 230 by arguing that “within every social system there exists a tension between the individual and the aggregate, the parts and the whole.” How does this tension manifest itself where you work? On your team? In this class? Is consensus always a good thing?

4. Look at what he says in the bottom two paragraphs of page 231 about the advantages of ambiguity and vagueness. Do you agree?

For Aeppel:

1. What do you think of the way Mr. Fowler enacts strategic ambiguity at his workplace? What are the advantages/disadvantages? Is your perspective on this as an employer different than your perspective as an employee?

2. To what extent do you share your “native intelligence” at your workplace? How do you decide whether to or not? To what extent is it an ethical issue?

* Asterisk indicates that the question is adapted from Corman, S. R., Banks, S. P., Bantz, C. R., & Mayer, M. E. (1995). Foundations of organizational communication: A reader (2nd ed.). White Plains, NY: Longman.

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